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Filmmaker linked to anti-Islam movie, sparks riots in over 20 countries

Posted at 8:48 PM, Sep 15, 2012
and last updated 2012-09-16 00:00:04-04

By Duarte Geraldino

(CBS) - Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a Southern California filmmaker, is linked to an anti-Islam movie that sparked deadly protests in the Muslim world.

Federal authorities are trying to figure out if the 55- year-old's reported involvement violated a condition of his parole.  Nakoula was convicted of bank fraud and is banned from using the internet. He denies a connection to the film.

"He was never in handcuffs.  He was never arrested, never detained.  It was all voluntary," said LA County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

The controversial film sparked violence in more than 20 countries over the past week.

Riot police pushed back hundreds of demonstrators protesting the movie outside the American consulate in Sydney on Saturday.

Officers in Cairo, where the demonstrations began, cleared protestors from Tahrir Square. The entrance to the U.S. embassy is now blocked by a concrete barrier.

Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died during an assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday.

President Obama is calling on all nations to protect Americans serving overseas.

"We must also send a clear and resolute message to the world: Those who attack our people will find no escape from justice."

On Saturday, the State Department ordered all non-essential U.S. government personnel to leave their posts in Sudan and Tunisia due to the threat of violence.

Even as demonstrations in the Muslim world subside, Al-Qaeda is urging protestors to keep up attacks on U-S embassies around the globe.

Duarte Geraldino for CBS News.